TOW #10 (TEXT): Don’t Go Shopping on Thanksgiving. Just Don’t. By Ellen Galinsky

In this opinion article, author Ellen Galinsky tries to persuade consumers to not shop on Thanksgiving. Galinsky is co-founder and president of the Families and Work Institute, and believes that by shopping on Thanksgiving Day, consumers are making large retailers like Macy's open their shops and thus have their employees work. Galinsky argues that having people work on holidays is detrimental to their well being, as well as their family values. In order to get her point across, Galinsky uses statistics as well as addresses the counter argument to make her point. Galinsky states, "Nearly one-third (32%) of employees report that their work has a primarily negative impact on their lives off the job by draining energy, so they don't have enough left over for their personal and family life."(par. 4). Galinsky uses this data to show readers that even without working on holidays, jobs affect people's family lives. To further her point, Galinsky uses this statistic to say that by taking off on holidays, employee morale is decreased, and there is unhappiness among the employees. These statistics make the consumer aware that morale is a big problem for employees, and that they therefore should not shop on holidays as to avoid promoting holiday working. Galinsky also addresses the other side of the argument by saying that there are some benefits like one and a half times pay for working on holidays, however she quickly refutes this claim saying that family is more important, especially on holidays. Personally I think Galinsky does a great job persuading consumers to not shop on holidays because after reading the article I feel the plight of the employees. Galinsky taught me that family is truly more valuable than money. 

IRB Intro #2: Bin Laden: The Man Who Declared War on America by Yossef Bodansky

     For the next 4 weeks, I have chosen to read, "Bin Laden: The Man Who Declared War on America" by Yossef Bodansky. This book looks into the rise of Bin Laden, and how he went from a promising engineer into a leader of radical Islam. Bodansky takes a different route into portraying Bin Laden's terrorism as he shows the why's and how's of his decision to do the things he does. Although impossible to understand the true reasons, Bodansky tries to use Bin Laden's past to try and piece together his reason for attacking the US. I stumbled upon this book when I was looking through my dad's bookshelf and decided to chose it because I realized that I truly didn't know much about Bin Laden. I thought to myself that I should know who this man was because he had such an impact on myself as well as the rest of America. Although most of us cheered when we heard about his assassination, I realized that I really had no idea who this man was. Therefore through reading this account of Bin Laden's life, I hope to understand why this man did what he did, as well as who he truly was. Often times non-fiction seems boring, however this book seems really interesting, and I am excited to read it. 

TOW #9 (Visual Text): One Coin for All of Your Cards Advertisement by Coin

   Over the weekend, I was looking at Youtube videos, and this advertisement/infomercial was the top hit on Youtube. Being that Coin is a brand new, innovative product, the video went viral, and now everyone is intrigued by the new technology. However, what truly made this advertisement successful was its mastery of the art of rhetoric. In the advertisement, the company, Coin is trying to promote its all in one credit card. In order to do this, a representative of Coin is doing everyday tasks with his new gadget and showing how simple it works. What Coin is trying to do is to explain what their product is, while showing how easy it is to use, as well as how it helps make life simpler. Coin is targeting all consumers with credit cards, as this is their target market. One of the main rhetorical strategies that Coin uses is the music in the background. The music is very techie as to give an innovative feel to the advertisement. The man's voice and the bee-bops merge well together into something that is really easy for the audience to hear, and understand. Another main part about the music is that once the man swipes his card, or does something innovative, there is a trill in the music. This roll off of the music makes a connection with the viewer, adding to the innovative feel of the device. Another rhetorical strategy that Coin uses in this advertisement is that it makes everything in very simple terms. For example, when trying to describe a portable swiper for an Iphone, the man simply says, "This thing" as to not complicate the product with techie jargon. By making things in simpler terms, almost anyone can understand what the man is saying, and understand the message of the company. Also by being informal, Coin reduces the barrier between the consumer and the creator. Personally, I thought that this advertisement was really good as it caught my attention and has even convinced me to possibly buy one. The Coin commercial used music and simple language to their benefit, and therefore the commercial really had an impact on the audience. 

TOW #8 (IRB) Moneyball By Michael Lewis

The second half of Moneyball by Michael Lewis talks more about Beane's successes as a baseball manager, and how exactly he goes on his large win streak. Compared to the beginning, the second half of the book talks more about the managerial aspect to baseball as opposed to the first half's discussion about Beane's life. Lewis does a great job of describing Beane's life as a manager by putting the reader into the action of the clubhouse. Instead of simply just talking about the events, Lewis almost makes it seem as though the reader is experiencing the events for himself or herself. Lewis uses a plethora of rhetorical devices to make simple baseball events into something interesting and connectable. In the second section, Lewis's purpose is to describe the genius of Beane as a GM. In order to do this, Lewis takes the reader through the GM process to show them how difficult it is to manage a team. In the text, Lewis describes many things going on at the same time to show how much Beane has to control. For example, one moment Lewis talks about the pitching issues of the team, and then the next Lewis talks about the batting changes Beane has to make. In showing the overwhelming tasks, Lewis shows that being a GM in baseball is quite a difficult task. Another strategy Lewis uses is he uses allusions to the lives of baseball players. For example, before Beane is about to get a player, Lewis describes the life of the player. After considering the player, Lewis writes, "Chad Bradford grew up the youngest...."(223) to show the backstory of the player. This strategy makes the reader realize that there are many things that go into the consideration of players. Also, as the first part did, Lewis uses direct quotes from actual people in order to make the book seem as real as the actual events. For example, Lewis quotes, "Pitch games that were meaningless" said Moose"(225) By using direct quotes, Lewis makes the story much more believable and relatable. Personally, I think that these strategies make Beane seem like a very accomplished GM, and also make the reader able to connect with what actually happened. I think that because of Lewis's use of rhetorical strategies and devices, I was able to read this book much quicker because it was much more interesting and connectable. Moreover, Lewis's use of rhetorical devices made the story more interesting and connectable